Yet Another Flat

Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
812
Location
central NJ
Bike
2010 Honda ST13
I've had 4 flats in 50,000 miles. All of them on the rear. Other than the inconvenience and 2 tows, the first 3 didn't bother me too much because the tires were at least middle-aged. This last flat, however, is on a tire (Michelin PR4 GT) that's almost brand new. I bought it in January and have since put only 2,000 miles on it. It still looks new.

I was heading out for a ride and was about a mile from home when I noticed it losing air. I'm surprised I made it back, but it sure was squirrely.

I can see a 1/2 inch slice in the tire and it goes all the way through. It won't hold air for any more than a few minutes. Is there any possibility of fixing this? I doubt it and I think I'm just going to have to suck it up and buy yet another tire.

I've never had so many flats before, either car or motorcycle. Just bad luck, I guess. So far, I've only worn down 1 tire to the end of its useful life.
 
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
8,108
Location
Cleveland
Bike
2010 ST1300
Sounds pretty bad to me. If it truly is a slice, and not just a hole, even a patch glued to the inside of the tire might not hold. The forces on the cut when cornering would probably tear the rubber and lead to sudden deflating.
 

dduelin

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Site Supporter
Joined
Feb 11, 2006
Messages
9,640
Location
Jacksonville
Bike
GL1800 R1200RT NC700
2024 Miles
006739
STOC #
6651
Conventional wisdom seems to be that semi-circular punctures of 1/4" or less in the middle 1/3 of the tread section can be safely repaired and ridden to the end of the tire's life.

Car and truck tires "sweep" the wheel track area of the lanes clean. The middle and outer edges of lanes tend to collect the debris and foreign objects that litter roadways. If you habitually ride in the center of your lane or against the outer lane markings you might be raising the odds of getting flats. Or just bad luck.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Aug 17, 2012
Messages
548
Location
Washington
Bike
2005 ST1300
I see you are a carpenter. Are these flats from jobsites?

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
 
OP
OP
ddemair
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
812
Location
central NJ
Bike
2010 Honda ST13
I see you are a carpenter. Are these flats from jobsites?
Interesting question, but no, I don't take the bike to work. I use my van.

But, I have taken the bike to Home Depot to pickup small items. I don't park in the contractor parking area with the bike. I've seen too many nails/screws that probably fell out of another contractor's truck so I avoid that area unless I'm there with my van which has larger and thicker tires. They do sweep the parking lot often so it's probably not a likely source, but you never know...

Car and truck tires "sweep" the wheel track area of the lanes clean. The middle and outer edges of lanes tend to collect the debris and foreign objects that litter roadways.
Good point. I usually ride in the wheel track area, left track for the right lane and vice versa, but of course there are times when I'm more comfortable in the middle.
 
OP
OP
ddemair
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
812
Location
central NJ
Bike
2010 Honda ST13
And yet another flat...

I'm getting sick of this. I have 56,00 miles on the bike. I replaced the rear tire at 50,000 miles after putting 2,000 miles on the previous one (as I wrote in my first post). So this tire (another Michelin PR4 GT) has 6,000 miles on it and I just noticed that I have yet another flat. That's 5 flats in 56,000 miles. How can this be? Have I displeased the gods or something? Should I consider another brand of tire?

This one appears to be repairable and I think I will even though I'm not big on repairs. If it had a few more miles on it, I would just replace it, but it looks like it's only halfway through its useful life.

Anyway, thanks for reading my little rant. It's funny how griping about it to my internet friends has improved my mood.
 

Mellow

Joe
Admin
Joined
Dec 1, 2004
Messages
18,826
Age
59
Bike
'21 BMW R1250RT
2024 Miles
000540
You're probably just in an area where roads and debris are bad... were the other flats slices or nails? Any construction nearby or even in an area where trucks filled with debris might pass your usual routes.
 
Joined
Feb 2, 2014
Messages
1,857
Location
houston, tx
And yet another flat...

[ snipped ]

Anyway, thanks for reading my little rant. It's funny how griping about it to my internet friends has improved my mood.
On two separate occasions, I picked up a duplex nail in the rear tire. First time, my lady and I did a RTE and about two miles after leaving, the bike felt a bit wobbly, so stopped to check - the tire was on its way to full flatness.

The second time I was doing about 70 on the HOV lane when I hear a pop (and felt a thud) - I thought the front tire had thrown something up against the engine pan - I get about 1/2-3/4 mile down the road and the bike's a bit wobbly - I pull over and sure enough, another duplex nail.

Fortunately, I keep a portable mini air compressor and plug kit, so I simply do a road-side fix and ride home carefully.
 

TPadden

Tom Padden
Joined
Apr 25, 2006
Messages
3,779
Age
73
Location
Brooksville, FL
Fortunately, I keep a portable mini air compressor and plug kit, so I simply do a road-side fix and ride home carefully.
That's what I used to do (all but the ride home carefully part): I'd plug and forget.

TPMS has changed all that for me; now I just pump and go. When I get home (and I've gone as far as 2,000 miles on a nail) I pull, plug, and forget. :D

Tom
 
Last edited:
Joined
Feb 2, 2014
Messages
1,857
Location
houston, tx
Plug the tire and ride it until it is time for replacement.
Personally, I wouldn't trust a plug on a motorcycle tire. he11, the plug I put in for the last duplex nail incident - it didn't last long - the next morning, the rear was flat again. Of course, those large duplex nails make a nasty, mangled hole. Personally, I replace the tire for piece of mind.
 

Whooshka

Fairly faST old guy
Joined
Jan 29, 2017
Messages
1,009
Location
New Jersey
Bike
2006 ST1300
I wouldn't trust a fix a half inch slice. I carry a plug kit with CO2 cartridges. I will ride on a plugged tire but only to get me to a new tire. Forces to a bike tire are very high.
 

SupraSabre

48 Years of SoCal Lane Splitting/Commuting-Retired
Site Supporter
Joined
Nov 20, 2005
Messages
9,498
Location
Cedar City, Utah
Bike
12/04 ST 1300s
2024 Miles
000145
STOC #
5901
And yet another flat...

I'm getting sick of this. I have 56,00 miles on the bike. I replaced the rear tire at 50,000 miles after putting 2,000 miles on the previous one (as I wrote in my first post). So this tire (another Michelin PR4 GT) has 6,000 miles on it and I just noticed that I have yet another flat. That's 5 flats in 56,000 miles. How can this be? Have I displeased the gods or something? Should I consider another brand of tire?

This one appears to be repairable and I think I will even though I'm not big on repairs. If it had a few more miles on it, I would just replace it, but it looks like it's only halfway through its useful life.

Anyway, thanks for reading my little rant. It's funny how griping about it to my internet friends has improved my mood.


I pushed my '04#2 off the centerstand this morning to discover it had another flat! :cus:

I just plugged it a month or two back! I didn't have time to investigate, I threw some air in it so I could move the bike out of the way and had to move everything over to my 12, so I could ride that into work this morning! :hat2:
 

TPadden

Tom Padden
Joined
Apr 25, 2006
Messages
3,779
Age
73
Location
Brooksville, FL
Personally, I wouldn't trust a plug on a motorcycle tire. he11, the plug I put in for the last duplex nail incident - it didn't last long - the next morning, the rear was flat again. Of course, those large duplex nails make a nasty, mangled hole. Personally, I replace the tire for piece of mind.
Personally, I think most of the people who don't plug also don't go through many tires in a year. Most of the people that ride 40-50,000 miles a year that I run into don't seem to sweat plugs, darkside, gas mileage, or any of the other little things posters here sweat; they just ride. :D

Tom
 

970mike

Mike Brown
Site Supporter
Joined
May 6, 2008
Messages
6,167
Age
66
Location
Lompoc, California
Bike
07 & 12 ST1300A
SPOT
LINK
STOC #
8057
Personally, I think most of the people who don't plug also don't go through many tires in a year. Most of the people that ride 40-50,000 miles a year that I run into don't seem to sweat plugs, darkside, gas mileage, or any of the other little things posters here sweat; they just ride. :D

Tom
:mrgreen: Ride it like you stole it!!
 
OP
OP
ddemair
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
812
Location
central NJ
Bike
2010 Honda ST13
I keep a patch kit and a small compressor in the bike, but it's there for emergency use only. I took it to my mechanic who I had to more or less coerce into putting a plug in. For $10, it was well worth it (but I did give him a good tip also). It turns out that this time it was a broken drill bit and easy to plug.

The fact that a drill bit was at just the right angle to enter the rear tire is truly surprising. I'm going with the theory that the front tire kicks it up and sets it up for the rear.
 

SupraSabre

48 Years of SoCal Lane Splitting/Commuting-Retired
Site Supporter
Joined
Nov 20, 2005
Messages
9,498
Location
Cedar City, Utah
Bike
12/04 ST 1300s
2024 Miles
000145
STOC #
5901
I keep a patch kit and a small compressor in the bike, but it's there for emergency use only. I took it to my mechanic who I had to more or less coerce into putting a plug in. For $10, it was well worth it (but I did give him a good tip also). It turns out that this time it was a broken drill bit and easy to plug.

The fact that a drill bit was at just the right angle to enter the rear tire is truly surprising. I'm going with the theory that the front tire kicks it up and sets it up for the rear.
I've got a large magnet for tripping the stop light sensors (I pulled it off my '04#2 when I was restoring it), I'm wondering if it is big enough to catch flying nails, screws, ect. before they hit the rear tire (using the theory of the front tire picks up the object and the rear tire catches it). Maybe I can attach it to my center stand!:think1:
 
Joined
Jul 5, 2017
Messages
81
Location
DFW
Bike
ST1300
With the sportster I used to carry a can of fix-a-flat in the saddle bags. I never had to use it on my bike but it saved a few others. In my truck I just plug it and put a can of fix-a-flat to keep it from leaking. I'm ready to put some in the ST as I'm tired of the tires slow leak.
 
Top Bottom